Impure
by jessie6491
Summary: She would prove it to them all. Just because she wasn’t full blooded Hyuga, didn’t mean they were all better than her. She would become the greatest ninja to ever come from the Hyuga clan.
1. Prologue

Impure

AN: okay, this is my first fan fiction, so please go easy on me. I had this idea in my head that I thought would be really cool to read a fic about, but I didn't find any. So, I decided to write it myself.

Summary: She would prove it to them all. Just because she wasn't full blooded Hyuga, didn't mean they were all better than her. She would become the greatest ninja to ever come from the Hyuga clan.

Prologue:

The figure trotted across the grass that led to his small home in the branch house section of the Hyuga Compound. It was a small apartment building that housed mostly elderly people that did not often but into others' business. That in itself was quite a feat. All of the rules and traditions were held in such high standards that the slightest mention of change would start an all-out war in the Council.

Neji stepped under the over-hang that provided his from steps shelter from the rain that was pouring down in Konoha. As soon as he was at his door he felt as if something was wrong. The dark-haired young man furrowed his eyebrows in response. He couldn't sense any chakra signature coming from his supposedly empty home.

"Byakugan!"

Neji peered inside his home with his activated kekkai genkai. Sitting in his living room, was a man with a familiar chakra signature. There was something else in his arms, but Neji could not discern what it was.

'_How in the hell did he block my byakugan?'_

Deactivating his dojutsu, Neji entered his home and looked at the nine-teen year old jounin sitting on his couch.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were with Jiraiya-san and Hinata-sama." Neji's cold eyes became colder as he gazed upon the kyuubi container.

"Where is Hinata-sama?"

Naruto, who had yet to look up at Neji, mumbled something incoherent.

"What did you say?" Neji's patience was beginning to wear thin. Neji had been profusely worried when Hinata had disappeared with Naruto. Even after Gamakichi delivered the message from Jiraiya that they were both safe and should not be considered missing-nins he had not stopped worrying. Now, over two years later, Naruto just shows up in his home with no explanation.

"I need you to take care of her."

"Nani?"

Naruto raised his head slowly and looked at Neji. Even in the shadows casted by the dark storm outside the window, he could Naruto had been crying. The gloomy weather outside the apartment only seemed to add to the depressing aura radiating from Konaha's number one most surprising ninja.

"I said I need you to take care of her for me."

"Who?" The moment the word left his mouth, a crash of thunder rang out from the skies. It was then that he heard it-the crying. Naruto was holding a bundle securely in his arms. It was what Neji had not been able to see with his byakugan.

Slowly, Naruto stood and handed Neji the baby wrapped in the blankets. Neji stood stock still for what seemed like hours while the baby wailed. It was so obvious. The resemblance- this was Hinata's child.

"Where is Hinata-sama?" Neji looked up at Naruto, fully prepared to use the Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou on him. The look in his eyes stopped him. At the mention of Hinata, Naruto's eyes had taken over a glossy sheen. He was about to cry again. When he spoke, his voice cracked.

"It's not safe if anyone knows I'm her father. People will probably make the assumption, but I would appreciate it if you kept her identity as secret as possible. As far as anyone is concerned, you were given her by a branch member that lives outside of Konoha."

"Naruto, what happened?" The normal stoic Hyuga's voice cracked somewhat. He had spent the first 13 years of his life being cruel to Hinata. Even after their first chuunin exams, he wasn't very kind. Over the past 7 years, their relationship had improved. But, it wasn't where he had wanted it to be between him and his cousin. It was just taking a little longer to make amends than he would have liked. Now, he feared he would never get the chance.

"I- I wanted her to come back to Konoha the moment she found out she was pregnant. I couldn't let her fight alongside of me with our baby growing in her stomach. But, she refused. She promised to stay out of any fights, but she would not leave my side."

A small, sad smile found its way to his lips.

"I almost missed the old Hinata-chan when we argued about it; the shy, timid one that would have gone back when I asked her. Not the stubborn confident woman I loved so much. For a long while, everything was ok. But-"

Naruto broke off and sunk on to the ground. Neji knelt in front of him with the baby still in his arms.

"What happened?"

"God-damned Akatsuki!" Neji could feel the demonic chakra flair and was almost blown back by it. The baby began to cry, but when Naruto looked up with his crimson eyes, he calmed down. Gently taking the baby in his arms, he cradled her and kissed her forehead.

"She was in one of the safest places in the world, but the Akatsuki came in a group of four. They knew both me and Jiraiya would be there with her. We… couldn't hold off all four by ourselves. After they made sure both Jiraiya and I were completely tied up with fighting the four members, another one showed up and stabbed Hinata in the chest. She managed to move enough that the wound wasn't fatal, but it was still very dangerous- being that she was eight and a half months pregnant. Jiraiya held them off so I could get her to the nearest village. He didn't… he never came after us."

Naruto's voice broke again and Neji could only stare as he began to sob. The Sannin was dead.

"The stress put on the body from the wound caused Hinata-chan to go into labor. We managed to find a medic at the village, but… she… she lost too much blood already." At this point Naruto's words were no longer coherent. Neji took the baby from his grip and stood slowly, looking out the window.

She never made it through childbirth.

Neji felt the hot and sticky tears roll down his face before he even realized he was crying. Hinata was dead. He looked behind him when he heard Naruto stand. The young man had wiped away his tears. Had it not been for Neji's extremely keen eye site, he would not have known he had been crying at all.

"I need you to take care of her. I won't let them come after my daughter and use her against me the way they did with Hinata-chan. That's why no one can know who she is." His voice took on the sound of determination and anger at the same time.

"I will kill every Akatsuki member. When I have done that, I will be back. When I know that my child is safe from the bastards we will be a family." Naruto took a step forward to take the baby from Neji's hands. He kissed her forehead and hugged her one last time before handing her back to Neji.

"Goodbye, Masumi-chan."

And then he was gone.


	2. Growing UP

Impure

AN: Ok, I forgot to put this in the prologue, but I won't forget it from now on.

**DISCLAIMER: As much as I would like too, I do NOT own Naruto**.

Chapter One: Growing Up

…

"NEJI-OJISAN!"

Neji winced at the volume of the four year old running towards him. He stopped his Taijutsu training just in time to catch the bundle that flew into him. He hadn't been hugging her for more than a few seconds before he felt her warm tears through his shirt.

"Masumi-chan, why are you crying?" He asked gently.

"They won't lemme play with them!"

"Who won't?"

Masumi looked up at her uncle with wide, tear-filled eyes. Her unruly dark blond hair was pulled into two messy pigtails and her tanned face was red from crying. That was about as far as her physical resemblance to Naruto went. Her cute little nose and soft round features were all acquired from Hinata. Had one not known what Hinata looked like, they wouldn't have suspected her for a Hyuga at all- say for the eyes.

Two wide white eyes stared back into Neji's own. The only difference being where Hinata had a slight lavender tint to her Byakugan eyes, Masumi's had a blue hue to them. Most of the time they looked plain white, but when the light caught them the right way, he could see the blue.

"The other kids! They keep calling me Hyuga Kuzu!" (note: I don't know if that is in the right context, but when I looked it up, kuzu meant trash.)

Neji paused at that. He didn't quite know how to react. He knew the moment he went to the Hyuga Elders that his little cousin would be treated like trash for not being full Hyuga. He still had no idea how he was supposed to raise a little girl. Had it not been for Tenten, he wouldn't have made it as far as he did.

_How on earth are you supposed to teach a little girl to grow up to be a good person when everyone in her "family" treats her like she is dirt to be walked on? Hn, _he snorted internally, _it's almost exactly like how Naruto grew up. _

And there-in lied his inspiration.

Kneeling before the little girl, Neji wiped away her tears with his sleeve and smiled at her.

"Don't cry, Masumi-chan. They might think that now, but one day you will be a very kind and loving person. You will be strong and they will all feel bad for how they treated you when you were all kids. The first step to proving you are strong is not letting them see you cry."

"Neji-ojisan?" Masumi wiped away her tears and smiled at Neji.

"Yes?"

"What is the second step?" Neji grinned at the little girl and ruffled the hair on her head.

"The second step is always being nice to everyone, no matter how mean they are to you. And, always keep your promises."

"HAI!" Masumi stood up straight and saluted her uncle. "I will take both of these steps and one day I will be the strongest kunoichi- no- the strongest SHINOBI to_ ever_ come from the Hyuga clan!"

That was the last day anyone ever saw Masumi Hyuga cry.

…

Masumi sat down in her seat at the Ninja Academy and waited for Iruka-sensei to arrive. She was early as always, and, therefore, bored out of her mind. Her messy blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but she still had to blow some stubbornly annoying bangs away from her face. She looked up when Inuzuka Kazuki walked into the room followed by his dog Ryo.

The Inuzuka duo had always been loud pranksters. Though, Masumi had to admit, after seeing Inuzuka Kiba, she understood where they got it from. She had always thought it ironic that his name fit him so well, while hers was the exact opposite. His parents had named him Kazuki, the first of a new generation.

It was an appropriate name. Though all of the Rookie 9 had eventually become some of the most powerful shinobi in the Hidden Leaf Village, the group would always be known as the Rookie 9- being the first group where every rookie genin made it to the preliminary rounds of the Chuunin Exams. It was something they learned about in school.

Kazuki was the first child born to a member of the Rookie 9. Only a few others of the groups had children, but they were around the ages of three and four.

Masumi's name, on the other hand, meant true purity. The irony in that? Her entire family saw her as the impurity of the Hyuga Clan.

The noise of her other classmates brought Masumi out of her musings. A loud thump next to her announced Tanaka Izumi's presence.

"Masumi-chan, why do you look so tired today."

"Sumimasen, Izumi-chan. I'm just very tired today. I was up all night doing homework after I trained all day with Neji-ojisan. I didn't mean to worry you."

"Masumi-chan, why do you always push yourself so hard? Do you just like being one of the top kunoichi in the class?"

"Iie, I train hard to prove to my clan that I will be the strongest Hyuga ever, even if I am not full Hyuga."

"Hmph, you will never be the greatest Hyuga. For starters, there is no way you could ever be better than Neji-sama. And he is only branch Hyuga, like you. Then there is the previous heir, Hinata-sama. She was one of the greatest to come from the clan. Last but not least, you will never beat me, Hyuga Kuzu. I will be the greatest shinobi to come from the Hyuga clan."

Masumi turned in her seat to look at Hyuga Masashi when he spoke. She couldn't help but wince slightly when he called her by the nickname the kids of the Hyuga clan had given her. Though, the movement was so small, no one noticed. She plastered a smile on her face and gave Masashi one of the most pleasant looks she could muster.

"I am sure that you will make a very formidable foe one day, Masashi-san." Masumi turned back around when she heard a clatter outside the classroom, but not before noticing the stumped look on Masashi's face. When she was little, she had promised that she would always be nice to everyone, no matter how mean they were. Even though it was in her nature to be nice anyways, she kept that promise. Though, a small part of her couldn't help but feel satisfaction when the rotten kids were stumped by her kindness.

"DAMMIT! KAZUKI!" The class grew silent at the sound of Iruka-sensei's voice. The only one making any noise was Kasuki. Masumi shook her head at the sight of him rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. He had pulled another prank.

…

The patter of feet on the ground alerted the ANBU guards at the Hokage tower that Masumi Hyuga had just been promoted to a genin of Konoha. Neji had told Masumi that morning that he was going to be in a meeting with the Hokage when she was to get out of school. From the sound of how fast she was running, she was excited.

"NEJI-OJISAN!"

Masumi burst through the doors of the Hokage office and flew into Neji before anyone could stop her. The fifth sat with her chin resting on her knuckles looking quite amused.

"I did it! I did it! I'm a genin now!"

Neji smiled down at Masumi who was grinning wildly at him. Tsunade felt a small pang in her heart. The grin made her look even more like Naruto's child. As much as she loved Masumi, it only reminded her of how much she missed the annoying blond. It had been twelve years since he had even been in the village.

She knew the Akatsuki were almost no threat anymore, but that didn't change the fact that he would not return until they were all dead. She needed him to return soon. There were only two people she would recommend as Hokage- Uzumaki Naruto and Sarutobi Konohamaru. As much as she knew Konohamaru would love the job, Naruto was her top choice. Being as old as she was, she needed to step down from the position very soon.

"… and then Kazuki walked out with Ryo and he was grinning like crazy with his hitai-ate around his forehead!"

Tsunade made the return trip to reality so she could listen to Masumi ramble on and on about the exam she had taken earlier that day. Her own hitai-ate was placed around her neck, much in the same fashion that her mother had worn it.

AN: hmm, I really don't know how well this chapter came out. I probably would have posted it at the same time as the prologue if I hadn't been pulled away from my computer.. sob anyhoosers, please review and tell me if you like it or what you think I need to change. Criticism very much welcome!


	3. The Teams

Impure

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto**

Chapter Two: The Teams

Masumi looked at the crowd of Hyugas that had gathered in front of the main house. They were all watching her with smiles and looks of respect. Standing at the front of the crowd was the head of the clan, Hyuga Hanabi. Next to Hanabi was her Uncle Neji, who had the biggest smile she had ever seen on him.

And then there were her parents. Her blond haired, civilian mother stood next to her dark, handsome father. He was a branch house member that had escaped the caged bird seal. Even though he had returned to Konoha, the council would not force the seal upon him. Why would they seal the father of the most powerful Hyuga?

Masumi almost felt herself tear up when her parents held their arms out to her. Her mother opened her mouth- but no sound came out. Looking around for the first time, Masumi noticed that there was no sound coming from any of the applauding Hyugas. Frightened, she ran towards her mother, but no matter how fast she ran she never got any closer. In fact, her parents got further and further away.

A loud beeping noise rang through her ears as the faces of her parents blurred into nothingness.

"Ughh…. "

Masumi rolled over in bed and punched the alarm clock on the nightstand. She felt it crack beneath her trained muscles, but paid it no heed. The annoying buzzing had been effectively cut off. Looking up at the time that was miraculously still displayed, she jumped out of bed with newfound energy- dashing to bed bathroom.

"OH NO! I'm going to be late!"

Jumping quickly in the shower, she washed her hair and scrubbed her body in record time before she cut of the flow of water and wrapped a towel around herself. She brushed her teeth, hair, and then threw it up into a messy ponytail. Loose tendrils of honey colored hair floated around her face as she dashed to the closet.

Her outfit consisted of tight black pants that ended at her calves, a blue tank-top that could be seen underneath her beige jacket- which she left unzipped. Her footwear was the black version of the standard shinobi's sandals.

Idly noting that it had taken her close to 15 minutes to get ready, Masumi took off from the small apartment and ran full-speed out of the Hyuga Complex in the direction of the Academy.

'_I can't believe I'm finally a genin. Another small step closer to my dream. I wonder who my jounin-sensei will be…'_

…

Masumi sat silently in her seat as she watched her classmates that had passed the exam slowly file in. Many people had graduated this year, but she knew that most would be weeded out by another test administered by the jounins.

Kazuki bounded into the room, still looking quite pleased with himself. To Masumi's amazement, he sat right down and waited patiently for Iruka-sensei to arrive. Apparently in his excitement was enough to push all deviant thoughts from his mind- for the time being.

Without missing a beat, Izumi promptly took her seat beside Masumi and gave her a sour look.

"I saw you rushing towards the academy today Masumi-chan. How on earth is it that even when you are running late, you still manage to beat me here?"

Masumi grinned at her best friend.

"I guess that just means you are extremely slow Izumi-chan."

Her reply had been followed by a smile that rivaled that of Rock Lee and Maito Gai until her face was slammed into the desk she sat in front of. Izumi Hmphed as the rest of the class turned their curious gazes to the scene.

Masumi lifted her head and rubbed her nose.

"Jeez Izumi-chan. What's got your panties in a twist today?"

Izumi opened her mouth to speak, but Iruka walked in before she could reply.

"Good morning to those of you that passed the exams. Today you will be assigned to three man cells with a jounin sensei. These teams were chosen based off of your different skills and skill levels. There is no switching, so don't even think of asking."

Masumi watched the faces of each new genin as their name was called. A small strand of dread rose up in her at the thought of being paired with Masashi. Though she highly doubted they would place two Hyugas in the same group, it did nothing to relieve the knots her stomach was tying itself into.

Finally, she heard Masashi's name called.

"Team 6: Kobayashi Aiko, Hyuga Masashi, and Watanabe Ringo."

Masumi released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Also, Izumi hadn't been called for a team yet- there was still hope. She zoned out as Iruka called out a few more teams.

"Team 9: Tanaka Izumi, Inuzuka Kazuki, and Hyuga Masumi."

"YES!" Masumi felt herself jump up in the air, arms pumping. She stopped and looked at the rest of the shinobi in the room- immediately dropping into her chair, her face multiple shades of scarlet.

"Sorry," she mumbled out.

"Nani! I have to be paired with two _girls_!" Kazuki stood up and pointed in the general direction of Masumi and Izumi.

Masumi backed up and cast a look at Kazuki that plainly said _Do you want to die?!_ In her peripheral vision, she saw Izumi pick up an object.

"BAKA!"

The academy book that had been lying within Izumi's reach made a thunking sound when it connected with Kazuki's head. The momentum of the book sent him reeling into the table. At that point, he disappeared from Masumi's view.

The class burst out laughing at Kazuki's twitching form on the floor.

Iruka sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, that's enough! Everyone be back here after lunch to meet your jounin-sensei's. I suggest you use your lunch wisely."

With that, Iruka walked out of the room- shaking his head.

"So, what do you say we go pick that baka up off the floor and have lunch together as a team?" Izumi called over her shoulder as she walked towards Kazuki, who was pulling himself back up.

Ryo jumped up onto Kazuki's head and growled at Izumi as she walked up. She grabbed the dog by the scruff of his neck and held him eye level to her. Ryo stopped growling immediately and barked at Izumi, his tongue lopping from his mouth before he licked her nose.

Kazuki's jaw hit the ground.

"How did you do that? He never stops growling at anyone unless I tell him not to."

Izumi shrugged her shoulders and cradled the dog, rubbing his belly.

"Would you like to come get lunch with us? Masumi-chan and I already know each other very well, obviously, but we never really talked with you much."

"Aha, sure." Kazuki grinned, rubbing the back of his neck.

…

"Oi! Ojisan!" Masumi called as she pulled back the over-hanging "doors" of Ichiraku Ramen stand.

"Masumi-chan, what are you doing in here today? I thought you were meeting your genin team?" Ayame called from inside the stand.

"Hai, we decided to eat lunch here so we could get to know Kazuki-san."

"Oh? Kazuki-kun is on your team?"

"Hello Ayame-chan!"

"Eh?" Masumi looked back and forth between Ayame and Kazuki. "You come here often Kazuki-san?"

"Well, yeah. My dad used to take me here all the time when I was a kid. His former team mate used to come here all the time with one of the other rookie nine. It reminds him of her."

"His former team mate…" Masumi racked her brain for the information she knew was there. "Ah, that was Hinata-sama, wasn't it?"

"Hinata-sama? Why did you call her Hinata-_sama_?"

Masumi smiled at Kazuki, but she knew Izumi was looking at him like the baka she was so convinced he was.

"Hinata-sama was the heir to the Hyuga clan before she was killed on an s-class mission. She is one of the greatest Hyuga to ever come from the Hyuga clan."

Masumi's voice grew quiet as she sat down and grabbed a set of chopsticks.

"Although I may not resemble the Hyuga clan, aside from my eyes, I am still a part of it."

Izumi winced at the slightly hurt tone in her friend's voice. She was prepared to slam Kazuki's face into the ramen bowl that had manifested itself in from of him- Ayame already knowing what they would all order- when she saw the guilty look on his face.

"Ano, I'm sorry about that Masumi-chan. It's not your appearance that made me forget that you are a part of the Hyuga clan. It's just that, well, they're all so… _mean_. You are the nicest Hyuga I have ever met!"

'_Perhaps there is hope for him yet'_, Izumi thought.

"Arigato, Kazuki-kun! Itadakimasu!"

With that, Masumi dug into her lunch.

…

"Where IS he?!" Kazuki paced back and forth in the front of the classroom. The last team had left only five minutes before, but Kazuki was thoroughly annoyed with being the only team left.

"Who says it's a he? Our sensei could very well be a kunoichi." Izumi muttered at him. She had been following him with her eyes for the majority of the time and was starting to feel dizzying watching him pace.

"Will you knock it off already?"

"SHHHH! Do you hear that?!" Kazuki leapt into his chair, portraying the perfectly behaved little boy.

Izumi snorted.

Masumi held her breath as the door slid open and in walked a man that looked close to Neji-ojisan's age. He was wearing the standard jounin/chuunin outfit with black sandals. Masumi recognized this man.

In walked Uchiha Sasuke.

…

AN: just for the record, I think Sasuke is a bastard that should die… buuuuut, I also think that the curse seal had a lot to do with his defect. So, for now, I give him the benefit of the doubt.  please let me know what you think about this chapter. If you review I will love you forever!


	4. Sensei

Impure

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto… sadly**

Chapter Three: Sensei

Sasuke walked down the hall of the Academy. Somehow, the Hokage had managed to "convince" him to take on a genin team. He had very few doubts that the team would be sent back to the Academy. Their stats were not outstanding. Mentally, he went over the few facts he knew about the team.

Hyuga Masumi: good taijutsu, average ninjutsu, low genjutsu

Inuzuka Kazuki: average taijutsu, average ninjutsu, almost no genjutsu

Tanaka Izumi: good taijutsu, low ninjutsu, average genjutsu

None of them were very excellent or outstanding.

For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this. Absentmindedly, he reached up and rubbed the place where Orochimaru's cursed seal had once been.

As he came upon the door of the room they were to be waiting in, he heard the boy tell the girls to shush. Obviously the Inuzuka knew how to utilize his advanced senses.

Lazily, he opened the door and swept his gaze over the three in the room. His eyes froze on the Hyuga. He had heard the stories of Neji raising a half-breed Hyuga. He had even seen a glimpse of the girl when she was around the age of five. Never before had he been able to see every detail about her. And he knew.

He knew whose child this was.

He was gaping, he could feel it. And yet, he could not stop staring. Her soft, round features held a friendly look in them. The same as Hinata always had. Aside from her skin tone and hair color, she could have been Hinata's twin. Slowly, her features twisted into an angry scowl.

He very nearly grinned.

Naruto was definitely the father.

…

Masumi was frightened when she saw who walked into the classroom. Uchiha Sasuke was a powerful man. Everyone knew it. He had been trained by the Snake Sannin- Orochimaru. It was among the lessons of the Rookie 9 they were taught in the Academy.

Some of the students had been angry when they learned that he was not only a traitor, but that he had been welcomed back to the village without very many punishments. In response, Iruka-sensei had explained the curse seal placed on him and the effects it had on his mind.

The first words out of Uchiha Sasuke's mouth when the curse seal had been removed was, "I'm free." It was a well known fact that the seal the missing nin had placed on the young Sasuke had polluted his mind and robbed him of his free will. The man that had returned with Sasuke was another of the Rookie 9. He was revered as a hero to some people, while others refused to talk of him.

Masumi knew that he was on Team 7 with the Uchiha and that his name was Uzumaki Naruto, but not much else was known of the ninja. He had left the village many years ago and had not yet returned, though it was made very clear that he had not abandoned his home.

The only time she had ever seen Uchiha Sasuke was when he delivered a message to her Uncle Neji when she was six. She had peaked around the corner of the building and made brief contact with his blazing red Sharingan. She never forgot those eyes. They had seemed so haunted then, but now seemed a little more life-like.

His gaze swept the room until his eyes landed on her. His eyes widened and she felt herself grow somewhat annoyed with the look.

It was _That_ look.

The one many other people had given her before. She remembered the look on Tenten, Lee, Ayame, and even the Hokage's faces when they had first met her. Knowing what she was looking for, she watched his eyes. There, she saw it.

The secret that was hidden there.

At once her annoyance deepened into anger and she couldn't help but snap at the man. She was so sick of people looking at her like there was something they knew about her, and then dismissing it as if it had been just a passing thought.

"Are you going to stare all day, Uchiha, or are you going to introduce yourself."

Izumi spun around to look at Masumi with wide eyes.

"Masumi-chan, did you just yell? You actually yelled!"

Masumi blushed deeply and looked at the ground before she spoke.

"Gomenasai, Sensei, I did not mean to yell at you."

She looked up and out the window, her cheeks still dusted with a rose color. It wasn't from guilt though. Sasuke noted that she still had a very defiant, Naruto-like gaze in her eyes. She was blushing from embarrassment of losing control of her emotions.

"Hn. Let's go up onto the roof so that you may introduce yourselves to me."

When Masumi looked back to where her sensei was, he was gone.

…

When the three genin made it to the roof of the building, they found Sasuke sitting quietly with his back leaning up against a wall, his eyes closed.

"It's about time you little runts made it up here."

"Hey! We're not runts!"

"Yes, you are." Sasuke opened his eyes and Masumi noticed that there was a playful gleam in them. This could not be the same Uchiha she had seen all those years ago. And yet, it couldn't be anyone else- he was the only Uchiha left.

_It's so strange. Eyes that haunted weren't able to smile at you. I think he changed a lot over the last six years. _Masumi quietly contemplated as she looked at him.

Sasuke gestured to the ground in front of him and the three genin sat in a semi-circle.

"You," he pointed to Kazuki "tell us about yourself."

"My name is Inuzuka Kazuki and this is Ryo," the dog jumped into his lap at the mention of his name. "I'm the first child to born of one of the Rookie 9. I love to train with my dad and Akamaru. My goal is to become the sixth Hokage!"

Kazuki pumped his fist into the air with the last sentence. He grinned until Sasuke decided to speak.

"Sorry kid, you won't be the Sixth."

Kazuki looked completely crestfallen. Masumi was about to yell at her new "sensei", but he spoke before she could say anything.

"That job is already taken. Maybe you should shoot for the Seventh or Eighth."

"Nani? Someone is going to become the Sixth?! Why didn't the Hokage announce it?"

Sasuke grinned. Masumi couldn't help but shiver. She pictured the grin with the look she had once seen in his eyes. It was a very scary image.

"The Sixth Hokage hasn't _officially_ been chosen, but I know who the Hokage will choose."

"Who?!" Kazuki leaned forward in excitement, but Sasuke waved away the question and pointed to Masumi.

"Hyuga, you're next."

"My name is Hyuga Masumi and I was raised by my Neji-ojisan. I don't know anything about my parents except that one was an escaped branch member. All my life, my clan has looked down on me because I'm only half Hyuga. My dream is to become the strongest Hyuga ever born to the clan and earn the respect of my family."

Masumi scowled at Sasuke, who was gaping again.

"You're staring again, sensei." Masumi crossed her arms and Sasuke shook his head. Pointing at Izumi, he ignored the comment.

"My name is Tanaka Izumi and I spend most of my time either with Masumi-chan or training to throw weapons. Once when I was little, I was visiting Masumi and I saw Neji-san and Tenten-san training. It was what inspired me to become a ninja. My dream is to become as great a weapons master as Tenten-san."

_Hm, if these genin pass the test, I could very well get Tenten to help with her training_. Sasuke idly thought to himself.

It occurred to them that he was already mapping out their training in his head. The moment he set eyes on Hyuga, no, Uzumaki Masumi, he was hoping the team passed. He did not trust anyone else to train his best friend's child.

"Tomorrow will be your final test. If you do not pass, you will go back to the academy. Meet me here tomorrow morning at six am and I will show you where the training grounds we will use are. Should you pass, we will meet there every morning at six."

"Sumimasen, sensei, but is it the training grounds with the three logs?"

"Uh, yes. How did you know that?"

"Neji-ojisan took me there once. He said it was where team seven used to train. I don't know why he thought it was important, but I remembered it anyways."

Sasuke smirked the tiniest bit. Whatever the reason Naruto had for keeping his child a secret, it must have been a good one for Neji to not tell her.

…

AN: ok, I'm not sure how much I liked this chapter, but I thought a lot of things needed to be explained- especially about Sasuke. There is going to be action in the next chapter. I don't know how well that will turn out. Please review and tell me what you think. Grammar mistakes, some of my ideas you don't agree with. Criticism is welcome!


	5. The Bell Test

Impure

AN: Ok, warning, there is action in this chapter and I'm really, REALLY unsure of how it will turn out…

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Naruto… no matter how much I wish I did.**

Chapter Two: The Bell Test 

"Woah, woah, explain that again?" Kazuki looked up at Sasuke with a skeptical look. Something about this test didn't make sense.

Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before explaining the test to his team again. At this point, most of his hopes of them passing the exams had withered away. Only so many teams had passed this particular test- his own genin team being among the few.

"In my possession I have two bells; you are to get these bells from me by noon. The one who does not will be tied to the post and forced to watch while the others eat their lunch. Then, he or she will be sent back to the academy"

Sasuke glanced back in forth between the members of the team. Izumi was chewing her bottom lip; her calculating stare focused on nothing in general. Kazuki still looked utterly confused, but about what, Sasuke wasn't sure. Masumi on the other hand, was looking at him with cold hard determination. It was a look he had often seen on Naruto's face. He hoped she did not openly attack him as Naruto did to Kakashi during their own test.

He set the timer and then set it down near the lunches he had brought with him.

"Go." He said, and the three genin disappeared before his very eyes.

'_Hmm, their grasp on the basics is average. I can still sense their chakras, but they are quite obviously concealing them.'_ He thought to himself as he patiently waited for them to make their move.

…

Masumi raced through the trees to put some distance between her and her new sensei. She had no idea where her team mates had gone too, but she knew she had to find them fast.

"Byakugan!" She called, activating her bloodline limit. She swept her gaze around and focused on the chakra signatures of her friends.

Izumi was concealed in a place where she could easily keep an eye on Sasuke, but was still out of his range- hopefully.

Kazuki, to her relief, was heading straight for Izumi. She could see the chakra gathered around his nose flaring slightly as he tracked her by sent. She headed for them while at the same time keeping watch on the jounin still patiently waiting in the training grounds.

She arrived at the location at the same time as Kazuki and Izumi looked at them with raised eyebrows as they landed before her.

She motioned for them to follow and the group of genin took to the trees so they could converse without being caught.

"The two of you really need to work on concealing your chakra. It was almost pitifully easy to pinpoint your locations."

Masumi smiled shyly and Ryo barked at Kazuki. His face twisted in a scowl as he looked down at his companion.

"You don't have to rub it in. So what if you were right?" Kazuki grunted when Ryo barked something else at the Inuzuka.

Masumi watched them with amusement, and could only wonder what the dog was saying to her team mate. Izumi, on the other hand, was growing immensely impatient with the two. Before she could do something about her growing agitation, Kazuki looked up with a serious face.

"There is something weird about this test. Did you two notice it?"

"Yeah, I did." Masumi agreed.

"Why would they put us on three man teams only to pit us against one another to see who is sent back to the academy?" Izumi rubbed her head in frustration as she voiced her opinion.

"Not only that, but at this rate, we will all be going back to the academy. How in the hell do they expect us to take on an elite jounin by ourselves? It's impossible."

Kazuki and Izumi's head snapped up at Masumi's comment. Masumi's own eyes widened in realization as her brain processed the words that had tumbled from her mouth.

"Because they don't expect us to do it by ourselves," the three said together.

Kazuki rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "I knew there was something weird about this test. It's meant to see if we could work together even at the risks of losing some one!"

"Yosh! Now all we have to do is come up with a plan to get the bells away from Sensei!" Masumi punched her fist into the air.

…

Sasuke glanced around the clearing suspiciously. Only a few moments before, he had been able to clearly sense two poorly masked chakra signatures. They had both converged to a location close to the clearing, and then retreated out of his range. He could only wonder what the genin were up to.

His thoughts flickered briefly back to his own exam. Team Seven had nearly failed because they refused to work together as a team. He would never forget the look on Sakura's face when she was forced to feed lunch to Naruto.

'_Hm. Who would have guessed then that the dobe would become so powerful and I would end up giving the very same test to his child?'_

Sasuke's hand flashed out and he snatched the incoming kunai out of the air as he was brought out of his musings. He hadn't noticed any chakra signatures return this way, but the kunai was clearly thrown from a close distance.

'_Nani?'_ He thought as he sensed many powerful chakras flaring in a circular pattern around him. For a moment, he had thought that Naruto was using a kage bunshin no jutsu. _No_, he thought as looked around. _There isn't enough chakra for it to be a kage bunshin. So it's just a regular bunshin then_.

A barrage of Kunai came flying out of the trees at him. He swiftly dodged them only to noticed Masumi coming at him from the trees. There were six of her. He moved to punch the first two that reached him, but they dodged the blow and dropped back into the Hyuga gentle fist style of taijutsu.

Two more figures came flying out of the trees just as Masumi attacked. Kazuki and his dog moved to attack Sasuke from behind.

_Hmm. Interesting, they're fighting together_. He thought as he landed a punch on two of the Masumi's facing him. They 'poofed' away, but were easily replaced with two more that jumped up to him. He hadn't expected one of them to be the real Masumi. She managed to seal off a few of his tenketsus before he flung her away.

Sasuke whipped multiple shuriken and kunai out of his weapons pouch and threw them at Kazuki with deadly accuracy. Repeated 'thunks' were heard as the deadly objects imbedded themselves in the log used in the Kawarimi no Jutsu.

"Konoha Reppuu!"

Sasuke was mildly surprised when Masumi executed one of Lee's techniques.

_He must have helped train her_. He thought. _Amazing how she can switch between taijutsu styles in a split second. That has some definite potential. _

Sasuke blocked the spinning kick with his right arm and then dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way as Kazuki and Ryo's Juujuin Bunshin attack hit Masumi head on. The genin tumbled into a heap, with Ryo transforming back into himself.

"GET OFF ME KAZUKI! I WILL NEVER GET A BELL WITH YOU INTERFERING!" Masumi screamed as she pushed Kazuki away and attacked Sasuke again with her gentle fist style taijutsu.

"Get out of the way Masumi, I WILL get those bells!"

"Gatsuuga!"

Sasuke pumped chakra into his feet and flew into the air to avoid the spinning missiles Kazuki and Ryo had become.

_Hmm, Kiba didn't waste any time teaching them that move. _

"What's wrong with you Kazuki! You'll never get him with a LAME jutsu like that!" Masumi screeched.

_I don't understand. They were doing so fine a while ago. Don't they get that as soon as they started arguing, their chances of beating me were greatly decreased?_

Sasuke's answer to his mental question was Masumi bonking Kazuki on the head and sending him face first into the dirt. He got up and spit out grass, giving Masumi a dirty look.

Sasuke sighed, and noticed another chakra signature approaching them. It was concealed incredibly well, but not good enough to conceal from him while she was this close. He grabbed Izumi's outstretched wrist and flung her into the other two genin, bringing an immediate end to their bickering. Once again, all of his hopes for this group had faded from his mind.

"Awww man!" Kazuki groaned as he sat up and rubbed his head. "Izumi, he felt you coming a mile away!"

"Uh, guys…" Kazuki and Izumi looked up at Masumi, who was staring at Sasuke and pointing. She leaned over to whisper to them.

"What do you say we get out of here and try to come up with a new plan before he kicks our asses?" She may have gotten a lucky shot in, but all three genin knew Sasuke wasn't fighting anywhere near what he was capable of.

…

Sasuke was somewhat surprised at the comment. It actually way a plan. They weren't really fighting over the bells- they were trying to distract him so Izumi could get the bells off of his belt.

_Hmm, their skills aren't anything great- yet. But there is definite potential, and they figured out the point of the test was teamwork. _

Before the group could disappear and form a new plan, he heard the chime of the timer that signaled the end of the test.

He had never seen such disappointed looks on the faces of three children.

The corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to suppress his smirk.

All three of their shoulders slumped and they looked at the ground. Masumi reached up to take her forehead protector off her neck, but Sasuke's hand flashed out and grabbed her wrist. She looked up at him, confused.

"Congratulations. You all pass."

"NANI?" Kazuki screamed and looked at Sasuke in disbelief. "But none of us got a bell!"

"Do you really think you could get one of those bells from me? I'm an elite jounin. You never had a chance of getting one. The point was to see if you would work together." Sasuke tried to keep a stoic look on his face, but couldn't help the grin that slipped out.

"Compared to my team, you passed with flying colors."

Masumi's ears perked up at the mention of his team. Something about the limited information on one Uzumaki Naruto had always irked her. She put her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth on the balls and heels of her feet.

"A-ano, Sensei…"

"Yes?" Sasuke turned from where he had been collection the timer he had used. Izumi and Kazuki paused from their excited chatter and looked at Masumi, who had a very thoughtful and curious expression on her face.

"Can you tell us about your team mate, Uzumaki Naruto?"

AN: ok, I'm really unsure of how this chapter turned out. Action isn't really my forte and I can only hope I did my best. Please, please, please, let me know what you think of this chapter!


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